- Joined
- May 5, 2019
- Messages
- 10,276
- Reaction score
- 5,239
- Location
- Staten Island, NY USA
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Other
The title could have been 'They're Really Loud: but how many of them are there, anyhow?
Many of our major media sources are businesses. That is, they have private owners and have as a goal the making of a profit to pass on to the owners. In order to do this, they need a confirmed audience for their product [news and commentary] to attract advertisers. The advertisers provide the money which, if it's more than the cost of running the business, provides the profit.
Now, that's all well and good in itself if each individual member of the media is content with its niche and gross income. But some are not. They wish to increase their audience and thus their advertising income. To do that, they, as Chef Emeril Legasse would say, 'kick it up a notch.' They add spice to their product. That, in turn, causes other media companies to respond in kind. With time, the notch becomes a very wide kerf. The product becomes very spicy.
And that leads to a problem for those of us who consume the news and commentaries. When we're presented with this or that group saying or doing this or that, just what percent of the American population are we hearing about? It might well be far less that we would assume from the amount of noise they make.
Regards, stay safe 'n well 'n remember the Big 5.
Many of our major media sources are businesses. That is, they have private owners and have as a goal the making of a profit to pass on to the owners. In order to do this, they need a confirmed audience for their product [news and commentary] to attract advertisers. The advertisers provide the money which, if it's more than the cost of running the business, provides the profit.
Now, that's all well and good in itself if each individual member of the media is content with its niche and gross income. But some are not. They wish to increase their audience and thus their advertising income. To do that, they, as Chef Emeril Legasse would say, 'kick it up a notch.' They add spice to their product. That, in turn, causes other media companies to respond in kind. With time, the notch becomes a very wide kerf. The product becomes very spicy.
And that leads to a problem for those of us who consume the news and commentaries. When we're presented with this or that group saying or doing this or that, just what percent of the American population are we hearing about? It might well be far less that we would assume from the amount of noise they make.
Regards, stay safe 'n well 'n remember the Big 5.
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